Veggies

Just a quick check-in to report my progress on adding more vegetables to the daily food.

For me, "veggies" mostly means "eat a salad." A big salad. So it's no surprise that I got most of my additional servings of vegetables that way. And no ... I don't hit it perfectly every time.

1/8: Had a large salad at the gym. I consider that thing three servings of vegetables; rough estimate, it's at least three cups of greens.

1/9: Had a big bowl of arugula with goat cheese with lunch. And that was it for the day, veg-wise. #fail

1/10: Had a MASSIVE salad, mostly vegetables, at our school salad bar.

1/11: Lunch with a friend was pizza ... topped with a mountain of mesclun. Honestly, it was really good.

1/12: Lots of carrots and onions with dinner, but not enough. #fail

1/13: So far today, I have had arugula with lunch, plus onion and artichoke hearts and beans - do beans count? Hell. I guess I don't even know how I'm doing today!

1/14: Not the best effort, but I did have a big helping of arugula with my lunch.

1/15: A true success! Had my greens at lunch, and then a big helping of broccoli with dinner. Each was about 1.5 servings, so I did it!

Ever forward. I will update this post as time goes on.

The Wagon

This. But not.

It's a new year, and I have an old problem. It's a problem that's looks like my ass, sounds like heavy breathing, and smells like bacon. Yep - another January and I'm still carrying excess baggage.

I'm not going to make a resolution or an excuse. I'm just going to acknowledge it, and move on. Because only by moving on can I even begin to move beyond, and beyond is where I'm headed, my friend.

The road to health is not a simple, straight line. In fact, there is nothing simple about it at all. It's all peaks and valleys and fried dough, and I'm in it for the long haul. I'm here to remember where I came from, and to forge ahead with wild abandon. This year, like every year past, is mine.

Over the last week or so, a few friends have reached out to ask for my support. Can it be that my progress looks like success to others? Can it be that my progress actually is success? It's strange to think of myself in that way - successful. And I think it actually freaks me out. That's why, every time I get close to my goal, I cheeseburger myself right back into my fat genes.

Not this year. Not this ass. Not in 2014. Thank you, but no. This year, I'm going to give myself a new challenge each month, and I'm going to do my damnedest to reach every one of them. My plan is to follow Cooking Light magazines 12 Healthy Habits program. Hopefully, by the time I turn the calendar to 2015, I will have kicked my fear in the teeth and reached at least an intermittent weight loss goal.

So, for the remainder of January, I'm going to focus on vegetables; specifically, getting three servings a day. Fruit is easy, but veggies? That's a challenge. So let's see how this goes. (I predict there will be a lot of salad in my January.)

It isn't easy. If it were, everyone would be fit. But the truth is, even after an indulgent December, I haven't fallen so far off the wagon that I've lost the wagon entirely. I can hoist my ample thigh right back up onto that sucker, and ride off into the sunset.

Hopefully, in a smaller size.